EX-SNC exec Riadh Ben Aissa extradited to face fraud charges

A former SNC-Lavalin senior executive accused of fraudin the McGill Universitysuperhospital project arrived in Montreal on Wednesday after his extradition from Switzerland.

The head of Quebec's anti-corruption unit said Riadh Ben Aissa,SNC's former head of construction, was detained byprovincialpolice.

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His return came two weeks after Swiss authorities announced theyhad accepted a deal reached Aug. 4 andsentenced him to the 29months he'd served in jail. They alsoordered him to repay millions ofdollars to the company.

In Canada, authorities laid 16 fraud-related charges against BenAissa in February 2013 in connection with the newMcGill University Health Centre, one of Canada's largest infrastructure projects.

He and several other people, including former SNC chief executivePierre Duhaime, allegedly committed fraud of $22.5 million inexchange for the company landing the $1.3-billion contract.

Arthur Porter, the former head of the MUHC, remains in a Panamajail fighting extradition to Canada on accusations he was involvedin the alleged fraud.

In Switzerland, Ben Aissa was accused of fraud, corruption andmoney laundering.

The charges stemmed from SNC-Lavalin's business in Libya. Ben Aissa acknowledged in court that he bribed Saadi Gadhafi, son ofLibya's late dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, so SNC could win contracts.

Ben Aissa also admitted to pocketing commissions.